Troost-Cramer, De-Centralizing the Temple 93
worship significance, and that Paul “completely abrogated” cultic worship in favor of an abstract, intellectual/spiritual approach, Paul’s cultic allusions are on display in his adoption of the liturgical language of the Hebrew Scriptures to describe the collection. 81 Through this language, “Paul employs the liturgy concept precisely in connection with the collection, which suggests the supposition that Paul has understood the conveyance and organization of the collection as liturgical service.” 82 Although Paul does not appear to view his priesthood as a mediation between God and the community, “the collectionaction . . . orients itself to the cult of the Father, and is carried out according to the order of concrete priestly laws.” 83 Similarly, the Greek term λογεία, describing the community’s monetary offering in 1 Cor 16:1–4, is found in Egyptian papyri and ostraca specifically designating cultic purposes. 84 In Phil 1:5–6, 10; 2:16; Gal 4:11; and 1 Thess 3:1–13, Paul expresses a concern that his labor in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles will prove to be “in vain” at the parousia, should his communities stray from the gospel he preached to them. Such a development would spell the failure of Paul’s priesthood and result in the loss of the Gentiles. 85 As priest, Paul cannot offer a blemished sacrifice! Recall also our discussion above regarding the subjective reading of Rom 15:16, according to which the Gentiles make the offering, indicating a priestly function. We may safely affirm therefore (with Williams) that Paul does not see only himself as “priest”; he sees the entire community as “priests” by virtue of the communal observance of (moral) purity practices and financial provision for Paul’s collection, which are depicted as sacrifices in no less real fashion than the sacrifices of the Jerusalem temple. 86 For Paul, therefore, Gentile Jesus-believers
“priestly service” and “priest(hood)”; I do not see the same distinction in the term λειτουργός itself. 81 For the idea that Paul wished to abrogate all cultic practices, see e.g., inter alia, Downs, Offering, 143–45, 147, 152, 158; Gärtner, Temple and Community, 58; Georgi, Geschichte der Kollekte, 74–77; Nickle, The Collection, 137. N. T. Wright (Paul, 167) casts the collection in terms of unity of the body of Christ, but this does not go far enough. For Paul’s use of Jewish liturgical language in connection with his collection, see Beckheuer, Paulus, 222. 82 Beckheuer, Paulus, 219–20. 83 Ibid., 220. See also Horn, “Herodianische Tempel,” 200. 84 Lanci, New Temple, 127–28. 85 See Stowers, Rereading, 213–14. 86 Williams, Paul’s Metaphors, 249. This is contra Horn (“Herodianische Tempel,” 191), who does not see purity concerns among Paul’s vision of priesthood for his Gentile congregations.